Airleas of the Picts
by WillowSioui
Summary: Last part of the TristanxGhost trilogy. Now that Tristan and Ghost are dead, who will save their daughter Saira? How will the knights cope with the loss of one of their own? Thus the tale ends with a mixture of passion, betrayal, anguish and adventure.
1. Airleas of the Picts

**Disclaimer:**** I do not own King Arthur, or anything to do with it. I do, however, own the OC's and the plot.**

**Plot:**** Last part of the TristanxGhost trilogy. Now that Tristan and Ghost are dead, who will save their daughter Saira? How will the knights cope with the loss of one of their own? Thus the tale ends with a mixture of passion, betrayal, anguish and adventure.**

**A/N:**** Thank you for the last time, Solaris8...you are my muse.**

Arthur and his knights all sit around a campfire, each deep in thought. It had only been a few months since one of their brothers in arms had been murdered by the Emperor of the Roman Empire, his wife mere hours afterwards. Gawain looks up at Arthur and shakes his head, acknowledging that they shouldn't stay in this spot for much longer. Arthur stands up and snuffs out the fire by way of kicking dirt upon it, and the rest of the men drag themselves wearily to their feet, and each mounts his horse. They pulls out and ride west, away from Rome. Arthur lead them into a forested area, and suddenly wishes that he had Tristan to scout out ahead of them. They are ambushed by a group of Picts, all with weapons drawn, surrounding them. Arthur signals for them all to dismount quickly and quietly, which they all do. The Picts surround them, some grabbing their horses' reins, others binding the men with ropes and pulling them deeper into the woods.

The Sarmatian warriors are brought to a rough camp, where they are places in a line, kneeling on the ground. Bors snarls some disgusted comment in Dagonet's direction, to which the large man nods his approval. The Picts all separate, and a woman walks up to them. There is something about the woman that is so like Tristan that all of them pause for a moment and stare. She is wearing the bear minimum of clothing, leather hide trousers and a leather-made shirt that only covers her small breasts. She is pale as Ghost used to be, and has the blue swirling tattoos that mark her as a Pict. She has thick black makeup around her eyes, accentuating the crystal blueness of them, and the ferocity that flashes within. Her curled black hair reaches down to past her shoulders, with feathers and breads braided in at certain places. She carries a spear with a sharpened stone end, pointing it directly towards Arthur's throat.

"Are you…Arturius Ursus?" Arthur slowly nods his head, keeping his eyes locked with hers. She watches him for a while, then nods her head to one of the nearest Pictish men, and he cuts Arthur's bonds loose. Arthur stands up slowly, showing that he is still not a threat, since the woman's spear is still at his throat. Now standing, Arthur is a good few inches taller than the woman, making her stand in the low five-foot area. He motions towards his men.

"May they be unbound as well, my lady?" The woman thinks about it for a while, then nods her head, and the other Sarmatian knights have their bonds cut. They all stand up as well, each one of them measuring the distance from them, to the warriors in their way, to their horses. The woman lowers her spear, and nods her head jerkily towards the fireplace.

"Come. Sit." She, shockingly enough to the knights, turns her back on them and sits by the fire herself. They all follow warily, and sit down near the other end. She motions towards the meat cooking over the fire, an tears into a piece herself. Arthur is the first to reach forwards and grab some meat, motioning for the rest to do the same.

"Might I ask who you are, my lady?" The woman looks up at him, one cheek puffed out because of the food stuffed against it so that she can speak, suddenly looking younger than before.

"My name is Airleas. I am daughter of Merlin." Arthur nods his head sagely, knowing that he is treading on thin ice.

"And why have you sought for us, Lady Airleas?" Airleas looks up at the man and gives him a childish smile, dropping her age even further.

"My father wants to speak with you, Arturius Ursus, about temporary peace agreements between your Sarmatian knights and out people." Arthur nods his head slowly, and graciously accepts. Airleas stands up and wanders off to the horses, and Lancelot leans over to whisper in Arthur's ear.

"I don't like it. Why should we trust a child? She can't be more than sixteen…." Arthur's retort is interrupted by the Pict man that had taken them hostage before.

"The Mistress Airleas is in her….fourteenth year on this….earth." He struggles to say through means of poor English. Arthur nods his head and looks at each of his men in turn. What had he gotten them all into now….?

**Review, please! How do you like the beginning to the last part of my trilogy? Please, long reviews welcome!**

**~R**


	2. Something Familiar

**Disclaimer:**** I do not own King Arthur, or anything to do with it. I do, however, own the OC's and the plot.**

**Plot:**** Last part of the TristanxGhost trilogy. Now that Tristan and Ghost are dead, who will save their daughter Saira? How will the knights cope with the loss of one of their own? Thus the tale ends with a mixture of passion, betrayal, anguish and adventure.**

**A/N:**** Thank you for the last time, Solaris8...you are my muse.**

Airleas kicks Arthur in the side roughly. He looks up and she informs him that they will be moving out soon. Arthur nods his head and stands up, noticing that one of the Pict men is moving with him, matching movements. Arthur sighs, knowing it was too good a thought for them to escape easily. He first wakes Lancelot, his oldest friend, and the both of them wake the rest in turn. Bors grumbles furiously at being woken up, and even Dagonet scowls. Arthur stands up and looks towards their picketed horses, which are covered in bundles and other miscellaneous things. Airleas looks towards him, her large blue eyes sparkling with mischief.

"We do not want you to escape, good Arturius Ursus. And as such, we shall use your horses for carrying out packs. You shall follow on foot." She turns and starts to bark at the Picts around her, making them all move faster. The Sarmatian knights are forced forwards, still having spears and other various weapons pointed in their directions. The large group end up wandering through the forest, virtually silent. Arthur looks to his left, and places his hand on Gawain's shoulder. Tristan had been the closest to Gawain, and his death has obviously done something more to Gawain. The knights shakes his head and looks down as he walks, brushing Arthur's hand off of his shoulder. He did not want any pity. They had lost many other brothers before Tristan, and Gawain resolves that he is going to try hard to forget about his inner pain and focus on what is happening at the moment.

They all walk until the sun is high in the sky, light streaming through the tops of the trees and beating down onto them. Airleas stops and gives them all a toothy smile, canines pointed dangerously. She motions the Sarmatians closer, which they respond unwillingly. They are pushed into a small clearing, where they gasp at the sight ahead of them. Airleas' warriors still have their spears pointed at the knights in warning, and the knights all look around at the trees above them. There are blue-tattooed people lounging in the trees, all leaning as far out from the branches as they dare to get a better look at the six men. Directly in front of them is a large fire, with Merlin sitting on a log much shaped like a throne, staring at them. He moves his staff in a semi-circle towards them, granting them permission to be seated in front of him. Arthur obliges, as do the rest of the knights, and Airleas sits to Merlin's right side, placing her hands and chin on his leg, looking up at him with immense reverence. Merlin looks over all of the knights, and the Picts all start to chatter among themselves, trying to figure out what the great wizard is going to do. Airleas starts to whisper something in Pictish to her father, eyes blazing with excitement. Arthur looks up at Merlin and holds his gaze for a few long moment, and Merlin hold up his hand; silence floods over the crowded Picts immediately.

"King Arturius Ursus," Merlin starts, his powerful, resonant voice booming in the silence, "man of the people. We wish you to listen to our plea." Arthur nods his head, but looks somewhat confused.

"My good Lord, I am no king." Merlin looks down at him with an amused glint in his eyes, and nods his head slowly, eyes never leaving Arthur's.

"Yes, boy, you are. King of the people, of the Sarmatian knights. Enemy of ours and enemy of the Empire." Arthur looks as if he is about to retort to the last bit, but Lancelot places a restraining hand on his friends arm. "We have been under attack from your people for far too long…but now there is a new threat. The Saxons, as they call themselves. We wish your help in the extermination of these savage people."

Arthur seems to think for a long while, Gawain hitting Bors upside the head as he was about to say something about the Picts being the savage ones. Finally, after what seemed an hour, Arthur looks up at Merlin once more.

"And what would my men and I get in return, Mighty Wizard of the forgotten woods?" Merlin looks down at Airleas, gently stroking her hair.

"You may have back what was once yours." He looks up to see that Arthur is confused, and so he continues; never taking his hand away from stroking Airleas' hair, "Marriage to my only child. You have taken away my Lady Guinevere…and now you may choose who might marry my daughter as an alliance between the Sarmatians and the Picts."

Arthur looks at Airleas, who is looking as if she is ready to spear one of them. He nods his head, and assures that he accepts Merlin's kind offer. As soon as this is said, people jump down from the tree tops and start to pass around foods and drink, dancing and singing chilling songs. Gawain walks over to Airleas, and hands her a piece of unfamiliar fruit.

"How is it that you open this, My Lady?" Airleas smiles a crooked smile and looks up at him from underneath her eyelashes. She takes the fruit, hand brushing against his lightly. She takes out a dagger and cuts the fruit, red juices flowing down her hand. She takes a bite out of the meat of it, teeth gliding into it easily, sweet juice running down her chin. She hands back the fruit and wipes her chin with the back of her hand.

"You must work through the tough skin, Sarmatian, and then you get to the center where everything is juicy and tender." She smiles cheekily, dimples popping into her cheeks, and walks away; giggling at the blush that formed its way onto Gawain's cheeks. Gawain leans against a tree, watching her walk away from him. Two thoughts enter his mind at this moment: The first, how wrong it would be for him to take a fourteen year old girl; the second, how familiar she seemed to him as she handled the fruit, how the dimples popped onto her cheeks as she smiled…

**Review, please! Long reviews welcome, no, LOVED! Please, tell me what you think so far! Is Airleas a Mary-Sue? Are any of the other characters, well, out of character? If so, please tell me!**

**~R**


	3. Sinead

**Disclaimer:**** I do not own King Arthur, or anything to do with it. I do, however, own the OC's and the plot.**

**Plot:**** Last part of the TristanxGhost trilogy. Now that Tristan and Ghost are dead, who will save their daughter Saira? How will the knights cope with the loss of one of their own? Thus the tale ends with a mixture of passion, betrayal, anguish and adventure.**

**A/N:**** Thank you for the last time, Solaris8...you are my muse.**

Arthur wakes in the cold air of the early morning, his body frigid and sore. He, as well as the rest of the knights, had slept on the cold, hard ground, and their sleep had not been one of the most comfortable. Arthur sits up and takes his cloak from around himself and crunches it together in his hands, trying to make the frost fall off of it and for it to become unfrozen. He looks around the camp to see that Merlin is gone, but Airleas is staring straight in his direction. He watches her until she becomes bored with him and moves away, silent even in this lack of sound that surrounds the Pict camp. He shakes his head as he gets chilling flashbacks of Tristan, and the grief that overcomes him at the thought of his lost scout. He looks over his remaining men, and shakes his head, not able to think about what would happen if he lost any of the rest of them. He then turns his head to see Airleas bent over Dagonet, her head cocked to the side, long curled hair flowing down and tickling the sleeping knight's face. Dagonet wakes at the feeling, and flips the Pict girl to the ground, himself on top of her, with a dagger held to her throat. All the rest of the knights wake and watch in horror, while Airleas' eyes are wide in surprise or fear, it is hard to tell.

"Dagonet, get off of her. She meant no harm." Arthur hold out a hand and places it on the large man's arm, while Dagonet sits straight and Airleas scampers out from underneath him. She then proceeds to spit in his direction.

"You stupid oaf! I was only looking at the silver on your hand." Dagonet puts his dagger away and blinks in confusion, then looks down at his hand, where a thick silver ring sits. He looks back up at her and bows his head in apology. Airleas stands up swiftly, composing herself, and stalks off. Galahad shakes his head.

"Great, now our Pict scout is even more so our enemy than before." Everyone glares at him and he looks around in confusion, "What?"

**-Later-**

Airleas lead the group of Sarmatian knights through a meadow, patting her ebony horses' neck. She looks to her side to see Dagonet ride up beside her. He looks down at her, getting a familiar feeling from her presence.

"Arthur says that we should let the horses break." Airleas nods in agreement, and dismounts her horse. They all allow the horses to wander the field, allowing them to graze and take a rest. Gawain motions for Airleas to sit, so she squats beside him. He looks towards her and smiles, holding out a piece of stale bread, which she takes.

"You do not seem like any of the other Picts, Lady Airleas. It is almost as if you are from somewhere else…" Airleas brushes this comment aside. She looks into the trees, and stands up, walking slowly towards them. Once she reaches the edge of the forest, two huge arms reach out and grab her, spinning her around. A large man walks out with her in his grasp, an evil looking dagger held against her throat. He is large in size, close to Dagonet in height. His bright red hair is tied into two thick braids, and his green eyes shift from one person to the next suspiciously. Protruding from his tunic's sleeves are winding tribal tattoos, as he slowly walks towards the now-armed Sarmatians. Out of the forest then comes another figure, who is wearing all black leather, with a black hooded cape around his shoulders. The man is shorter than his companion, with dark hair and startling blue eyes. The smaller man smiles cockily towards his companion.

"Well, dear Kael, it seems we're outnumbered." The man names Kael gives the smaller man a smile, making him look younger than before, but the scar at the edge of his mouth twists his lips into a half-snarl.

"So it seems." As he says so, Airleas elbows him in the stomach, ducking away before she can be sliced with his sword. She rolls towards the knights and grabs a short bone dagger from her boot, waving it threateningly towards the two men. From the woods comes one more person, but this one on horseback. She has red hair that curls elegantly to her hips, and deep brown eyes, full of hatred. She is wearing a flowing white dress, and she stops her pure white mare.

"What are you two idiots doing now?" The smaller man looks over his shoulder at her playfully.

"Be kind, Kilyna. We're just having a nice, friendly conversation." He looks back at the knights and the squatting Pict in front of them.

"Daithi!" calls a familiar voice from the woods, and Saira tumbles forwards, a small smirk on her face. Arthur suddenly sheaths his sword and walks forwards, eyes set on Saira.

"Saira?" She looks up at him, eyes wide. She then smiles and runs over, dodging Daithi's swiping arms, and hugs Arthur. He pulls her away from him and looks down at her seriously.

"We were just on our way back to Rome, to tell you that everything is all right!" she looks around him to the rest of the knights, but pays no attention to Airleas, "Where are my parents, Arthur?"

Arthur puts a strong hand on Airleas' shoulder, and she looks up at him slowly, her smile disintegrating as tears well up in her eyes. She then shakes her head and looks back at Airleas, her eyes growing wide once more. She runs towards her with a whimper, and before she can get to her, Airleas slices her arm with her bone dagger. Saira grabs her arm, looking at the younger girl in shock. A tear falls down her cheek.

"But Sinead…what are you doing? It is me, Saira!" Airleas shakes her head and backs up and away form her. Arthur looks at her in confusion.

"Saira, this is Airleas of the Picts; Merlin's daughter." Saira shakes her head vigorously.

"No; this is Sinead, my little sister!"

**Review, please! What do you think? Long reviews loved!**

**~R**


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